Chamrajanagar: A vital elephant corridor within the famed Bandipur National Park has been cut-off by rail fencing , denying the jumbos access to about 17 sq kms of forest tracts in Bolegowdanakatte, Omkar forest range.
When Elephant- Proof Trenches (EPTs) failed to keep elephants from straying into human habitation, the forest department began rail fencing on the fringes of some forests, but in the process it has fragmented the elephant corridor in question, claims a wildlife activist.
"Rail fencing in the Omkar and Hediyala ranges over 7 kms and 3.5 kms respectively obstructs this vital elephant corridor in Bandipur," he says, adding that the corridor is within a tiger reserve that supports a huge elephant population.
"Now Bolegowdanakatte has become isolated, making the deer and other wildlife in this part vulnerable to poachers," the activist complains, calling the entire exercise a "blunder" and contrary to the forest department's assurance to keep the elephant corridors intact when rail fencing is erected.
When contacted, a forest official admitted that prior to the rail fencing, elephants moved from Bolegowdanakkatte to Chikkadevamma Betta, a hill, in search of fodder and water.
"But now the route has been blocked and the safety of wild animals is an issue in the Bolegowdanakatte area," he said.
Also , with the corridor blocked, elephants are now increasingly straying into fields from the Nugu reservoir side and are being driven by farmers towards Bolegowdanakatte, where forest staff have a hard time driving them back into the forests.
